After Paradise is Lost
by La Vie Musicale
Summary: It has been four years since Takizawa Akira has left. Saki is still waiting patiently, as she promised. Is it too late, or will she get encouragement from a certain old man? Set after the 2nd movie Paradise Lost.


**So, I just finished the series Eden of the East. I really loved it. I finished the whole series in one day, including the movies. It was the best and most awesome anime series I had ever seen. So this story is set after the second movie. I really hope you enjoy. I don't own Eden of the East at all.**

**~After Paradise is Lost~**

Saki took her niece to the park. Sitting on the park bench, she watched as she played with her miniature shiba-inu. After Angelika had gone back to her original owner, her niece wouldn't settle down. So her brother in law and sister decided to adopt another shiba inu that looked exactly like the original.

Saki gazed on at the park. It had been about 4 years since Takizawa Akira disappeared again. She knew it would probably be a long time until he did what the country needed. That didn't change the fact that she missed him terribly.

There had been many different improvements in Japan. They weren't big at first. Little changes to the public services like parks and malls. Many small businesses aiming to help the general public, as Eden had started off, also got mysterious donations from an unnamed source. Eden of the East was also back to its former glory. It took some time, but with some help from the Airship program created by Itazu and a very nice donation from former NEETs and other unnamed sources. It was clear to Saki who was behind at least some of it. She was sure it was Akira. The rest of Eden was sure of it too, but it was kept unspoken between the group.

Saki heard her phone ring, signaling that she got a new text message. She looked at her phone and saw a new text message. She looked at her phone and that it was from Ohsugi.

'_The whole group is going out to dinner tonight. You should come with us. But if you're busy, I understand.'_

Saki smiled at the message, and then replied that she would love to have dinner. After she put her phone away, she called out to her niece. It took a minute for her to come over.

Saki smiled. "What were you two doing over there?"

"There was a man over there. He thought Annie-chan was his dog, but I told him that she was my dog. Then he saw you, and that he knew you."

Saki blinked. "Well, is he still over there?"

Her niece shook her head. "I said that he could come over and say hi, but he said he had to go back to work."

Saki put her finger to her chin in though. "Did he say anything else?"

Her niece shook her head and thought again. "Well, do you remember anything else about him?"

"He had kinda long hair, and he was really nice."

Saki smiled and took her niece's hand. "Well, I hope you two meet again." They walked off, going away from the park. On the other side of it, a man smiled and stepped into a cab. The driver smiled.

"Are you sure you want to just leave?"

The man laughed. "For right now, yeah. I can't see her just yet."

"Even after four years?"

The man's smile grew. "Even after four years."

That evening, Saki met up with the other members of Eden. They regularly ate together. They were like a close-knit family.

"So, Saki-chan," Ohsugi started, "how was your day? I-I mean, did you do anything special?"

Saki smiled and shook her head. "Not really. I took my niece to the park. She said she met someone who knew me. They wouldn't talk to me though."

"Hm…" Hirasawa said. "It may have been one of the 20,000 NEETs Takizawa sent to Dubai."

"Or, it could have been Takkun."

Hirasawa turned to his Sis. "What do you mean, nee-san?"

"Oh, nothing… Just thinking aloud…" She smiled.

"All that aside," Micchon said, putting her glass down, "does anyone else but me feel as though we're being watched?"

The group looked around, but since the restaurant was crowded, they saw no one. Ohsugi smiled.

"You're just being paranoid, Micchon. Someone was probably just thinking how cute you are." Ohsugi reasoned, which made her embarrassed.

"Shut up…" Micchon said, completely red.

Saki laughed at her friends, before taking a sip of her drink. 'It couldn't have been Takizawa-kun…" She looked up and saw the waiter coming and made everyone aware that the food was on their way.

After a while, the group decided it was about time to go their separate ways for the night. Saki called a cab and was dropped off at the house she shared with her sister's family. She went straight to her room and plopped on her bed. She reached in the drawer that was next to her bed and pulled out Takizawa's old phone. Turning it around, she sighed. It hadn't worked since before Takizawa left.

Saki put the phone back on her nightstand. She kept expecting it to ring or receive a message. But that never happened. The screen just stayed black, the power not working. She rolled over and put her face in her pillow. She was just about to drift off into slumber, but a sound from her nightstand kept her from doing so. She sat up abruptly and saw the phone she had just being thinking about all lit up. She slowly reached for and opened the phone and saw a single new text message.

'_I'll be coming back for my phone soon. Have it ready for me.'_

Saki gasped and almost dropped her phone. Should she call someone! Or maybe she should wait until tomorrow… She looked at the message again, and saw that there was no number listed, and no e-mail address. It was like it had appeared out of nowhere…

'_This is just great…'_ Saki sighed, clutching the phone to her chest. _'Now, I'm not going to get any sleep…'_

As she thought, Saki barely got any sleep. She woke up still holding Akira's phone. She flipped it open, wondering if it was just a dream. But it wasn't. The phone worked. And it still had the message sent from the unknown number. Saki sighed and sat up.

Saki rushed to get to work, remembering to take the phone with her. While rushing to the office, she bumped into someone, and the phone dropped out of her pocket. She gasped and helped the person up. "I'm very sorry!" She got even more embarrassed when she found he was an old man.

The old man smiled and bent over to pick up the phone. "It's alright, dear." He held the phone in his hand for a while and looked at it. "This is quite the phone. Excuse an old man for asking, but where did you get it?"

Saki smiled and took the phone back as the old man gave it to her. "Someone very special gave it to me before he left. I'm watching it for him until he returns."

The old man smiled. "An old boyfriend? Or a long lost love, perhaps?"

Saki turned red. "I-I don't know if it was that complicated between us…"

The old man's smile grew. "Well, whatever the case, keep a close eye on it. It's obviously very important to you." He looked at his watch. "I'm sorry to have kept you so long. I'm sure you've somewhere to be…"

"Please, don't apologize." Saki smiled. "It was my fault. Don't worry about it." She started rushing off again, but more carefully. The old man smiled, and continued on his way.

Saki stepped inside the building and sighed. Hirasawa looked up from his computer.

"You're late. This is quite unlike you, Saki-san."

"I'm sorry, Hirasawa-kun. But I brought something I though everyone should see." Saki sighed. She took out Takizawa's phone.

"It's just Takkun's phone." Micchon pointed out. "We've seen it a million times before."

"You haven't seen this." Saki smiled. She opened the phone and went to the text message she got the night before. Micchon took the outstretched phone and looked at the message as the rest of the group crowded around her.

"When did you get this?" Itazu asked.

"Last night." Saki said. "After dinner."

"What do you think, Panties? Could it be him?" Sis asked anxiously.

"Hm... It could be Vintage. But to know for sure, I might have to borrow the phone for the day." Itazu said. "Hey, Micchon, you mind helping me out?"

"I guess… I finished all my work yesterday, so I have nothing better to do." Micchon said, trying to hide her excitement.

"Well, now that that's settled, everyone else get back to work." Hirasawa said. Saki went to her desk, and logged on to her computer. It was very hard for her to focus, but somehow, after lots of effort, she got the work done. At the end of the day, everyone crowded around Micchon and Itazu.

"So, what'd you get?" Sis asked impatiently.

Micchon sighed. "Absolutely nothing."

"Whoever sent this message has got some serious firepower on their side. Government type skills."

"Then, I guess we'll just have to wait…" Kasuga sighed. Saki took the phone back and put it back in her purse. Ohsugi glanced at her.

"W-why don't I walk you home, Saki-chan?"

Saki smiled at him, and nodded. She walked out first, leaving Ohsugi at the hands of the rest of Eden.

"Why are you still trying?" Micchon asked, still looking at her computer screen.

"What do you mean?"

"She means," Itazu said, "that she's Vintage's girl. Don't you think you're a little too late?"

"Maybe." Ohsugi smiled. "But I want her to know that I'll always be there for her. Even if I'm just some nerdy friend." He then left to catch up with Saki. Sis smiled.

"He really loves her." She said.

It was a silent walk home. Ohsugi would try to start up a conversation, but it would die quickly. They finally reached her house after what seemed like hours. She said goodnight and made her way to the door.

"Wait, Saki-chan!"

Saki turned around. "Yes?"

"D-don't get discouraged! I-I'm sure he'll be back soon!"

Saki smiled. "Thank you, Ohsugi-kun. I appreciate that."

Ohsugi watched her go into her house, and smiled to himself. If he could still make her smile, then it was all okay. He walked off, humming a happy tune.

A couple weeks passed, and there was still no Takizawa. Summer had arrived, and her niece was on summer break. So, it seemed like every day she wanted to the park. Saki just smiled and agreed to take her. It at least gave her a chance to get out of the house.

Saki sat on the bench again, and watched her niece play with her dog. It was nice to watch them burn energy. She took out Takizawa's phone again, fiddling with the hem of her yellow dress.

"Oh, so you still have it! I didn't know if you got my message!"

Saki paused and looked up from the phone. She gasped and almost dropped the phone.

"Takizawa…kun…?"

Akira smiled at her. "I always did think you looked pretty in yellow." He sat down on the bench next to her.

"Hey, Saki."

"H-Hi…" She smiled. Her niece ran up to her, the dog trailing along behind her. Saki turned to her and smiled.

"I-is this the person you met the last time we were at the park?" Her niece smiled and nodded.

Akira smiled again. "And who's this cutie?"

"My niece. She grew very attached to your dog. So we got her one when she was old enough. She cares very much for it." Saki explained.

"I get it." Akira smiled. He pat Saki's niece on the head and watched her play.

Saki couldn't stop staring at him. She still couldn't believe that he was sitting right next to her. He looked at her with a smile.

"So, how have you been?"

Saki smiled. "Good, I suppose. Nothing really has changed. I still live with my sister and brother-in-law. Don't get me wrong. I've still been looking for a place, but not as hard as I was."

Akira smiled. "That's good. How is everyone else?"

"Some as ever." Saki smiled. They smiled at each other for a while, then Saki turned to watch her niece who was coming back over.

"I'm ready to go home, Auntie." She said, making sure her dog was with her.

"O-oh, okay." Saki said, she looked at Akira, who smiled again.

"Why don't I walk you home? I don't have anything to do."

Saki smiled and nodded and they started walking down the street. Saki's niece ran along ahead of them, but not too far ahead. They reached the house and Saki went to the door to unlock it. Her niece was at the window, playing with her father through the glass.

Saki opened the door and her niece ran inside to find her parents. She turned back to Akira and smiled.

"So, Saki, are you busy today?"

Saki shook her head. Akira smiled at her and held out his hand. She smiled and took it, and they walked off hand in hand. Asako looked up from the cookies she was setting out and saw her sister leave with Akira. She just smiled and continued her work.

The walk was a silent one, full of content and peacefulness. They reached his motorcycle, and rode over to his house.

"You still own the mall, Takizawa-kun?" Saki asked as she got off the motorcycle. Akira nodded and smiled.

"I had it fixed up. Mr. Outside gladly helped me." He said, taking her hand. "C'mon." He tried leading her but she didn't budged.

"What's wrong?"

Saki smiled at him, holding back tears. "It's just… that… I missed you, ya know? And I'm happy you're back… But… I don't know if you'll leave again… And it scares me…"

Akira walked up to her and wiped a tear away.

"I'm not going anywhere. I promise." Akira smiled. He leaned down and kissed her sweetly. Saki blushed and smiled at him.

"By the way," Saki started, "you mentioned 'Mr. Outside'. What's he like?"

"You met him. He told me you bumped into him on the street a couple weeks ago."

Saki gasped. "That was him! Is that why he was so interested in the phone!"

Akira shrugged. "I guess…" Then he smiled. "I fixed the merry go round." He looked at the golden ring still around Saki's neck. "You still have the ring?"

Saki smiled. "Of course." Akira laughed and took her hand making her follow him to the roof of the mall. She laughed along with him. She had found her paradise, even after it was supposedly lost.

**~The End~**

**So, that was my story. I hope you enjoy it. I'm so in love with this series. My mom doesn't even watch anime, and she likes it. So you know it's good. But she won't watch the movies because their still in Japanese. But when ****Jason Liebrecht and Leah Clark get their asses in gear to make the movies, we'll be golden. Anyways, please read and review!**


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